The space news weekly rundown covers a range of topics:
- Starship: Despite being tantalizingly close to launch, SpaceX's Starship is facing delays due to government bureaucracy. The hot staging ring was removed from booster 9, potentially for hardware access. The ring was later lifted and restacked, indicating progress. Full stack testing began with a test of the ship's quick disconnect arm.
- Starlink: SpaceX launched Starlink group 6-18 from Cape Canaveral, successfully placing 22 Starlink V2 mini satellites into low earth orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket, which is being used for these launches, is currently the only operational SpaceX rocket.
- Falcon Heavy: Preparing to launch NASA's Psyche mission, the Falcon Heavy conducted a static fire test at pad 39a. The rocket is set to launch on Thursday, carrying the Psyche mission to study asteroid 16 Psyche.
- Artemis 2: The core stage of the mission's SLS rocket has had all four RS-25 engines structurally joined to its engine section. The solid rocket boosters are also coming together.
- International Space Station: The station bid farewell to three of its crew members, including Roz Cosmos Cosmonaut Sergey Prokopiev, Dimitri Petalin, and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio. Rubio's return to Earth marked a significant milestone as he now holds the record for the longest single space flight by an American astronaut.
- Blue Origin: CEO Bob Smith announced his departure from the company, with his successor Dave Lim joining in December. The company has yet to launch anything orbital during Smith's six-year tenure.
- International Launches: China launched a Long March 4C from the Qigwan Satellite Launch Center, carrying the Yaogen 3304 remote sensing satellite. Iran's Quasad launch vehicle successfully launched the Nor three Cubesats into orbit.
- Kerbal Space Program: The Kerbal Space Program YouTube channel uploaded a developer talk called "Wobbly Rocket KSP2 Dev Chat". The host responded to viewer comments on the subject of wobble in KSP2.
The host thanks viewers for their support and looks forward to future content, including modded KSP games.
1. Starship, a SpaceX project, is close to launch but faces delays due to government bureaucracy. [Source: Document(page_content="00:00:00.00: welcome back to my space news weekly")]
2. SpaceX celebrated a historic launch anniversary and continued its expansion of Starlink. [Source: Document(page_content="00:00:00.00: welcome back to my space news weekly")]
3. Artemis 2's SLS is moving towards completion. [Source: Document(page_content="00:00:00.00: welcome back to my space news weekly")]
4. Blue Origin announced a major update led by its new CEO, Dave Lam. [Source: Document(page_content="00:00:00.00: welcome back to my space news weekly")]
5. Artemis 2's SLS rocket has had all four RS-25 engines structurally joined to its engine section at the Mishu assembly facility. [Source: Document(page_content="00:00:00.00: welcome back to my space news weekly")]
6. The core stage of Artemis 2 is making significant progress towards launch readiness. [Source: Document(page_content="00:00:00.00: welcome back to my space news weekly")]
7. The International Space Station has three fewer crew members following the departure of Roz Cosmos Cosmonaut Sergey Prokopiev, Dimitri Petelin, and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio. [Source: Document(page_content="00:00:00.00: welcome back to my space news weekly")]
8. China launched a Long March 4C rocket from the Qigwan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu Province, carrying the Yaogen 3304 remote sensing satellite. [Source: Document(page_content="00:00:00.00: welcome back to my space news weekly")]
9. Iran launched a Quasad rocket, successfully launching the Nor 3 cubesat into orbit. [Source: Document(page_content="00:00:00.00: welcome back to my space news weekly")]
10. The Kerbal Space Program YouTube channel uploaded a developer talk called "Wobbly Rocket: KSP2 Dev Chat". [Source: Document(page_content="00:00:00.00: welcome back to my space news weekly")]